Scar-Crossed Paths
by Thayet D'Ragon
Summary: Two scarred warriors of peace... what happens when they meet for the first time? A crossover of Fushigi Yuugi and Rurouni Kenshin. (Sorry to those who had to point out my mistakes, but thankyou for doing so!)


Scar-Crossed Paths  
by Thayet D'Ragon  
  
  
A Rurouni Kenshin / Fushigi Yuugi Crossover  
{After the Kyoto Arc, and after the FY cannon series}  
***  
Along an empty alley in the quiet Meiji-era Tokyo...  
  
A soft *pop* was heard in the silent alley, then an empty, unadorned kasa appeared in the deserted place. When noone moved into the alley to check on it, the distinct jingle of the links of a shujuko sounded from the kasa, preceding the emergence of a tall, blue-haired man.  
Stepping from the kasa, the stranger picked it up and began to take in his surroundings. Shrugging his kesa closer around his shoulders, he stepped out of the alley, into the early morning sun.  
Townsfolk passed busily by on the edge of the cobblestone streets, exchanging morning greetings and gossip of the previous night.  
Running his hand over his face, the smiling man made his way into the traffic, in no particular hurry. He waved at passerby, and smiled at the children he met.  
He stopped at a few road-side shops, but didn't buy anything. Working his way from the town proper, he found a sedately flowing stream, and followed it until he reached a large wooded bridge spanning the water. On both banks of the river great trees had spread their roots, casting shade and green across the earth. Following a well-worn trail, he found what would would serve as a great fishing spot.  
Chichiri seated himself just inside the shade of a towering tree, lightly brushing the dew from the grass beneath him. He pulled a fishing rod and a few fruits from his kasa, then settled down for a lesiurely day of fishing.  
  
Midway into his morning, Chichiri became aware of children's voices approaching him. The smile on his mask seemed to become more real as he waited. _Children no da. I certainly hope they're friendly..._  
"Ken-nisan! Ken-nisan! That man is in our spot!"  
"Our spot!" A second, younger voice echoed.  
"Maa, maa, I'm sure there's an explanation girls. Let's-"  
Chichiri looked up as the youngest of the two girls ran up to the grassy back he sat on.  
"Hi Mister!"  
"Ohayo no da."  
He smiled as she tried to study him. She looked back at her sister and the red-haired gentleman coming up behind them as if for support, then turned back to him.  
"You in OUR fishing spot, Mister. Move?"  
"Suzume!"  
The little girl winced at her sister's reprimand. "Onegai?"  
Chichiri looked at the girl, then at the fishing pole and basket in the red-head's hands and back.  
"Ah, sumaimasen no da. I didn't realize this was your fish spot."  
He made to go, but the approaching babysitter waved him back down. Lowering himself to the girls' height, he smiled gently. "Girls, we can share with him, right? There's plenty of fish in the river. Suzume-chan? Ayame-chan?"  
The girls didn't seem to mind, only nodding before running off to play beside the river.  
Chichiri watched the red-head sit himself down, a bemused expression on his face. "Sumanai for the girls, de gozaru. They like this spot for the flowers."  
Chichiri smiled. "That's all right no da."  
Kenshin settled himself beside the stranger, instinctively knowing he meant no harm to either him or the children. He let his smile reappear, watching as the girls danced in the wildflowers.   
"Are you passing through, traveler?" Kenshin asked politely, bringing out his own fishing rod.  
Chichiri nodded. "Hai no da." Even reaching, Chichiri could find no evil intent in this man's spirit, only a sense of hard-earned peace, much like the monk's own.   
"You've been traveling a while, de gozaru?"  
Chichiri couldn't help but smile, knowing the other had to have caught his infamous 'no da's' already. "Aa. Most of my life no da."  
Kenshin smiled, enjoying just sitting in the presence of one he felt was as old as he; had been through the same life-changing circumstances in his equally short life. "You're more than welcome to come by the Kamiya dojo this evening if you have no place to stay, de gozaru."  
"Thank you no da. That's very kind of you."  
Kenshin gathered his line back in, preparing to cast it again. "Sessha wa Himura Kenshin, de gozaru."  
Chichiri waited until he had cast his line back, hesitating only momentarily. "Boku wa Houjun no da."  
Her older sister trailing her, Ayame ran back to the two fishers, her tiny fists clenched around fragrant spring blossoms. "Ken-nisan, Eago-san, lookie the flowers!" Bouncing into Kenshin's lap, the little girl thrust the flowers towards his face, wanting to share her treasure. Turning his head to escape the fragrant bouqet, Chichiri got his first glimpse of the famous crossed-scar. His eyebrows lifting slightly, he was quickly distracted by Suzume.  
Not to be outdone, the older sister had also picked a handfull, this time offering it shyly to the smiling stranger.   
"Would you like some flowers?"  
Chichiri grinned for her. "Arigato no da! These are very pretty no da!"  
Suzume smiled back, less shyly now. Taking her sister's hand as Kenshin set her down, the girls skipped a little further down the riverbank, playing in the shallows.  
The two adults watched them, wistful expressions on both their faces before turning back to their fishing.  
"Can I ask a question?"  
Chichiri nodded, noting the dropped honorific. "Aa."  
"Why do you wear a mask? You don't look like a circus performer to me."  
Chichiri glanced at the swordmaster, as if trying to decide if he was really serious. "Why do you ask?"  
Kenshin shrugged casually. "Why would you wear a mask otherwise? Especially one so obvious?"  
Chichiri swallowed past rising memories, pushing them away from him. "I-"  
"You don't have to answer that, Houjun. Not if you don't want to."  
Chichiri hesitated, not quite sure what to tell this man.  
"Sometimes, I wish I had a mask."  
Chichiri regarded him seriously for a moment, then turned back to the river. "Why?"  
Kenshin smiled softly. "Because, for just a little while, I could be someone different than *me*. No one would challange me as Hitokiri Battousai."  
Chichiri voiced his unspoken thought. "And no one would threaten your loved ones?"  
Kenshin nodded as his smile widened. "Aa."  
"I suppose that would be nice."  
Kenshin looked back from checking on the girls. "But it's not as easy as it seems, ne?"  
Chichiri gave him a small smile. "It's not easy always hiding beneath a constantly smiling mask; when people don't trust you because they can't see your real face."  
"Not to mention it doesn't hide your hair."  
Chichiri stared at him. "Huh?"  
Kenshin smiled, almost mimicking the mask. "My hair, de gozaru." He shook his head sadly. "It just wouldn't hide my hair. And you, my friend, have rather distinctive hair yourself."  
Chichiri couldn't help but to grin. "Hai no da." He pulled his kasa over his head, shading his face breifly. "But that's what this is for!"  
Kenshin chuckled, and Chichiri let the kasa fall and rest upon his back again, enjoying the brief peace. But a nagging memory kept pushing it's way to the surface of his mind.  
"Kenshin, why do you let others see your scar?"  
Kenshin let his gaze roam across the river. "Why should I hide it? It's a part of me I won't ever forget."  
"Doesn't it bother you that they don't know what it's for? They couldn't know it's meaning..."  
Kenshin smiled slightly. "Do they know the meaning of my life unless I tell them? If I hide my scars, then I deny the circumstances and the choices that were made to create them." He traced the two scars on his cheek, across and down. "Just because they don't know the story doesn't make them any less meaningful."  
Kenshin sat in silence as the monk thought about what he had just said. I've never told anyone this before...I wonder why I said that. I suppose it's true, though. I've never tried to hide either one of my scars, except when they would have given my identity away.  
His thoughts were interrupted by Chichiri's next query.  
"How... does it make you feel? When people stare at your ..scars."  
It was Kenshin's turn to sigh. "I've never thought of hiding them... I guess I've just accepted that people will stare."  
Chichiri chuckled softly. "You didn't answer the question."  
Kenshin looked at him, studing his hands in his lap. "You never answered my first."  
Chichiri nodded once, then reached one hand up. In a simple motion, he released his mask, letting it fall away into his palm. One mohagany eye stared up and out across the lake. "At first, I used to wear it to hide the fresh wound, because I didn't want to deal with the ..circumstances. Then, I wore it to hide the scar from others, because I didn't like the way they stared. Children ran from me, and others avoided me, or worse. The scar frightened them. And then... I realized I was using just to hide; for my benefit, no one else's."  
"It became it's own scar."  
Chichiri nodded. "I realized that. When everyone saw a smiling face, I could keep myself seperate; as if I didn't need the help I offered to everyone else. I've been.. hiding behind it for so long, I really hadn't noticed it."  
Kenshin ran his fingers through the wildflowers beside him. "May I ask... how?"  
"Aa." Chichiri's voice was sad, but he knew he could tell this kindred soul. "Years ago, I loved a woman. She and my best friend were the only people in my world. But my best friend betrayed my trust, and stole her heart from me before a flood took her life. I ..hated my friend then, and did something I should have never have done. I tried to kill him, and in our struggle, the riverbank below us gave way. I ..realized my mistake too late, and when I tried to save him, this happened." He traced the bitter scar with his fingertips. "I tried to pull him back, but I let go of his hand when the log hit my eye."  
Chichiri looked away. "I don't ever want to forget why I have this scar. But... it's my personal problem, y'know? I don't want others to pity, or ask about it..."  
Kenshin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "What are you hiding from?" He waited for Chichiri to look up, but didn't let him answer just yet. "Just because the scar is yours, doesn't mean you have to carry the guilt alone. It's not your fault you weren't strong enough to save your friend. No one is ever always strong enough. It's... something I had to learn, from *my* friends."  
"Do they know why?"  
Kenshin shook his head. "Not yet, but soon. None of them have pushed, but I'm ready to tell them. They've become my family, and I want them to know. It's something I should have told them already, but I've been afraid, too." He smiled, knowing Chichiri's next unasked question. "Years ago, I too loved a woman. I was a hitokiri for the new revolutionary government, and her fiance was one of my kills." Turning his head, he traced the first, cross-wise scar. "He gave me this scar, the first mark I ever recieved as hitokiri. It did not heal properly, until I recieved the final cut. She found me soon after, and ended up settling with me. We weren't intimate, but I discovered I did love her, in a way. Then she was taken as bait for a trap, while I fought one of the hardest battles in my life at that point. I defeated the enemy, but they stole my senses one by one, until I was left to fight their leader when he thought I would have been utterly defenseless.   
"Appearently, *she* thought so, too. During the fight, I made my killing stroke, and found her body on my blade as well." Kenshin completed the cross, running his finger down the final scar. "Her own knife carved this one, both as a reminder of the blood on my hands, and, I think, as a sign of her forgiveness."  
Chichiri watched him with renewed respect, even as he realized that the sword master had come to his own terms with his past.  
Kenshin nodded. "After the war ended, I became a simple wanderer for ten years, just thinking of my life, and helping to make a better world for those around me. I made a vow never to kill again, and since I have carried only my sakabatou. My life is lived now only to create and assist life."  
"To atone..."  
"Hai. To live my life in exchange for those who've lost theirs; in support of those weaker than I. It's what I've given my life to."  
"I understand."   
Kenshin smiled, and pulled his line back in. "I think you do. And I think it's rather late now to catch any fish."  
Looking behind them, little Ayame and Suzume were fast asleep in the flowers, taking advantage of the warm summer evening. Chichiri smiled as he replaced his mask. "Kawaii no da..."  
They packed Kenshin's fishing gear, then gathered up the girls. The two wanderers walked down the road apiece together, for all appearances a mismatched couple; but in their hearts and minds there were never two more alike in the world.  
Kenshin glanced over at Chichiri, smiling at the still-sleeping Suzume resting on the monk's shoulder. "You're still welcome to spend the night at the dojo, Houjun."  
Chichiri shook his head softly. "Iie, I should be heading home no da. But thank you for the kind offer."  
"Are you sure you'll be alright?"  
Chichiri chuckled. "Hai. Well, you've certainly taken this better than I have."  
"What makes you say that?"  
"You're not running."  
Kenshin smiled. "Not anymore."  
At the dojo gates, Chichiri set down a groggy Suzume. Kneeling down to her height, he tucked a small globe into her fist. "Arigato for the flowers, Suzume-chan. They were very pretty." Standing, he slid another gift into Ayame's fists as the babe watched him wide-eyed. "And thank you for sharing your fishing spot with me today. It's a wonderful spot."  
Kenshin bowed as Chichiri straightened. "It was very nice meeting you today, Houjun. Good luck on your wanderings. And if you ever need anything, just stop by, or ask for the Kamiya Dojo."  
Chichiri offered him back a bow. "Arigato, Kenshin. For everything. And good luck with your family - I'm sure they must love you just as much as you love them. Good bye!"  
Kenshin waved to the monk, encouraging Suzume and Ayame to do the same. "Good bye, Houjun!"  
The gate beside him swung open, then Kaoru was standing behind Suzume. "'Evenin', Kenshin, girls. Who're you waving to?"  
Suzume yawned and tugged on Kaoru's skirts to be picked up. "We's wavin' to Eago-san, Kaoru. He gave Ayame and me presents, see?" The little girl held up a perfect clear crystal globe for Kaoru to see. Inside the crystal stood a handful of wildflowers, just like Suzume had cheerfully given away earlier. "He game me pretty flow'rs too..." She yawned again and snuggled against Kaoru.  
Smiling, Kenshin turned Ayame's palms out, so that they could see her gift also. Inside of her globe was a tiny landscape; a perfect replica of her "fishing spot", flower patch and all.  
Kenshin could feel Kaoru's questioning eyes on him. "Good evening, Kaoru-dono. I brought fish for dinner."  
Kaoru rolled her eyes, grinning. "Kenshin, you never cease to amaze me." She held the gate for him and started back towards the home. "So tell me, who is this 'Eago-san' Suzume mentioned? And where did he get these expensive gifts?"  
"He was just a wanderer, Kaoru-dono. A wanderer looking for some peace from an old wound..."  
In the distance, golden rings chimed.  
  
*************************************************  
  
"Eago" means "smiling face". Eago-san is a nickname I found in a fanfic I read...somewhere... ^_^ 


End file.
